Major Investment In US Transportation Comes With Challenges
The US invests $1.2T to transform transport—EV networks, public transit, and rail expansion are set to reshape mobility. But can states and cities handle the challenge? Discover the opportunities and hurdles in this historic infrastructure push.
The US Congress passed the US$1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in November 2021. While perhaps not “revolutionary,” it is “evolutionary” because it makes significant strides towards improving the US transportation system.
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
It is the first federal transportation bill in 6 years. It invests more money in public transit, intercity passenger rail, and electric vehicles (EVs), and most programs receive more funding than their prior baselines.
It shifts a greater proportion of funding – 31% – to discretionary (competitive) grants relative to formula funding, meaning there is more money that states, and cities can compete for to fund worthy projects.
Features of IIJA
- Highways and bridges are still the primary focus at over US$ 400 billion (including the largest dedicated bridge investment since Interstate System construction), there is nevertheless a shift in focus to equity, resilience, environment, and technology
- With EVs and alternative fuels, for example, the federal transportation bill calls for the development of a plan to build out the network and create a new joint office between the US Departments of Transportation (DOT) and Energy; it then allocates US$ 5 billion to build the network. Then there are competitive grants…
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